Existential despair
2:17 So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.
{waw + Qal pf. 1s anEf' to hate, the emotional attitude one has toward what he opposes, detests, or despises; what one hates is considered very unappealing—s.d.o. tae—d.a. + m.p.n. ~yYIx; the lives, the various aspects of life—conj. YKi causal—m.s.adj. [r; evil, displeasing, bad, repulsive—prep. l[; + 1p suff.; one me, over me, concerning me—d.s. + m.s.n. hf,[]m; that which one works, what he accomplishes—rel.part. V + Niphal pf. 2s hf'[' does not focus on the hard or unpleasant aspects of toil or labor, just the labor itself—prep. tx;T; under—d.a. + c.s.n. vm,v,--conj. YKi because, since—d.a. + m.s.n. lKo the all, everything—m.s.n. lb,h, vain, useless, worthless, unfulfilling—waw + f.s.n.const. tW[r> used in Eccles. for a longing or striving, but may be understood in a few other ways, see exposition—c.s.n. x;Wr breath, wind, spirit}
2:18 Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. {waw + Qal pf. 1s anEf' I hated—pron. 1s ynIa] I myself, consistently emphatic about the younger Qoheleth—s.d.o + m.s.n.const. lKo—m.s.n.const. + 1s suff. lm'[' here, emphasizes the fruit or results of his labor, when Solomon saw all his fine work, it mocked him for the reason below—pref. V + pron. 1s ynIa] —m.s.n. lme[' a laborer, which I was a laborer=for which I labored—“under the sun”—pref. v, which—Hiphil impf. 1s + 3ms suff. x;Wn the root signifies the absence of movement, being settled with overtones of some finality, Hiphil=I will be caused to settle on him—pref. L + m.s.n. ~d'a' to a man—pref. v, who, which—Qal impf. 3s hy"h' who will become—prep. yrex]a; + 1s suff.}
2:19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity. {waw + interrog.pron. ymi who—Qal act.part. [d;y" knowing, who knows—d.a. + m.s.adj. ~k'x' the wise man—Qal impf. 3s hy"h'—conj. Aa or—m.s.n. lk's' or a fool—waw + Qal impf. 3s jl;v' to exercise power or authority over something, to have control over—pref. B + m.s.n.const. lKo—m.s.n.const. + 1s suff. lm'[' fruit of my hard work—pref. v, + Qal pf. 1s lm;[' which I worked hard—waw + pref. v, + Qal pf. 1s ~k;x' and for which I acted wisely to accumulate—“under the sun”—conj. ~G: also, indeed, even—m.s.adj. hz< this state of affairs—m.s.n. lb,h,}
Exposition vs. 17-19
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As the preceding verses have indicated, Qoheleth had pretty much done it all, seen it all, considered it all, and had come to one unavoidable, irrefutable conclusion—all men die!
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When one considers all the activities in which Solomon engaged, there is a very real sense in this chapter that no part of his accomplishments ultimately fulfilled him.
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When that lack of fulfillment is coupled with the realization that it makes no difference whether one is wise of foolish, since all men die equally, it leads to a palpable sense of frustration.
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Although the sense of frustration has been below the surface in the previous verses, it comes boiling out in verse 17 with a vengeance.
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The extremely strong emotion of hatred is somewhat of a strange attitude for one that was recognized to be very wise, since he would have known that the benefit of wisdom was long life. Prov. 3:2,16, 4:22, 8:35
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While his statement about hating life was quite personal, he does not limit it to his own existence by saying that I hated my life.
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Instead, it is a general statement about hating all life as he has observed it; it has the force of telling the reader that everyone’s life is worth hating.
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Again, one must recognize that Solomon is not saying that he has this sense of emotional despair at the time of writing; he is accurately recording the unpleasant conclusion to which he had come earlier in his life.
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Another fact that should be observed in this section is the number of times that Qoheleth uses the first person verb and/or the first person pronoun I.
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Of the 88 times he uses the first person in this book (which decreases dramatically toward the end of Ecclesiastes), almost half of the usages (42) are found within the first two chapters.
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Qoheleth is so consumed with his own questions, logic, conclusions, concerns, etc. that he makes no mention of God (other than the derogatory 1:13) until the light begins to break in. Eccles. 2:24
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Qoheleth is painfully and obviously self-absorbed during this section of his life; this is one sure path to misery and despair, confirming what Jesus Christ said about the nature of life. Lk. 9:23-25
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Like any believer that goes through a time of concern, doubt, misery, ore even despair, Qoheleth will not come back from the edge of insanity quickly; he will gradually make advances throughout this book.
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He introduces his explanation of why he was disgusted with life as he indicates that all the work he saw being done was nothing more than a burden to him (lit. evil upon me).
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While everyone might not come to the same conclusion, it is fair to say that at this point Qoheleth is saying that all this life just seems wrong to him.
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As he expresses his repugnance for all that he sees in this world, one might expect that his logical conclusion would simply be to end it all.
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However, Qoheleth (even at his worst moment) recognizes that God is the author of life and that only he has the right to take life. Gen. 9:5-6; Eccles. 2:24-25
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Even with his frustration and distaste for life as he has seen it, Qoheleth recognizes that man is responsible to God, who will judge all men according to His standards. Eccles. 3:17
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In fact, it is only real faith in God that will enable the believer to withstand such crises of faith, which every believer will suffer at some point in his Christian life. Gen. 22:1ff; 39:1ff; Job; Matt. 11:2-6, 26:69-75; Heb. 10:32-39
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Any believer that thinks he is above such testing, or looks down on other believers when they suffer such tests of confidence, will find that his feet will eventually be put to the fire. IPet. 4:17-18
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God will test each believer by allowing a circumstance or series of circumstances to demonstrate the level of thinking, doctrinal understanding, and willingness to apply under the pressures of the angelic conflict.
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Qoheleth reasserts his two conclusions that the all, everything is futile, and life is nothing more than striving after the wind.
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As we saw in chapter one, whether one is chasing the wind, striving after the wind, or herding the wind makes no real difference; every possible translation suggests that he is engaging in a fruitless endeavor.
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This concludes his examination into the real value of wisdom; as he has asserted, wisdom might be better in the short term, but in the long term its value is overturned by death.
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Qoheleth now shifts from the relative value of wisdom to the value of his labor in life and the fruits of that labor.
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He uses the same strong verb anEf' (sane’—hated), to express the strong emotional response to that which one finds utterly unappealing, that which one detests, despises, or to which one is opposed.
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In this case, the object of his disgust is actually not the labor itself, which he has acknowledged as providing some short term satisfaction. Eccles. 2:10
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As we have observed, even the short term enjoyment that comes from hard labor and the momentary satisfaction one takes in a job that is well done does not provide true lasting satisfaction. Eccles. 2:11
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In this case, Qoheleth turns from the work itself to that which his labor had produced, which was no doubt well thought out, extensive, very high quality in material and workmanship, and impressive.
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As he considers his achievements, he is again confronted with his own mortality; as with wisdom, death casts its shadow over the subject of labor, achievement, and accumulation of wealth.
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This leads to the next obvious consideration, which is the fact that all he has worked so hard to accomplish will be left in the power and control of another following his death.
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While this statement is true in general, it should be first applied to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, who had likely given his father some reason for this lack of confidence in his heir.
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Assuming that Solomon is within the last ten years of his life when he writes Ecclesiastes, Rehoboam would have already been in his thirties. IKings 14:21
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Like Rehoboam, it is quite possible that the heir to whom you leave the fruit of your wise labor may not be as wise as you. IKings 12:1ff
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Although not expressly stated, it does seem that it is troubling to Qoheleth that death is going to be separate him from that on which he expended so much of his time and energy; further, he recognizes that he is powerless to do anything about it.
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The rhetorical question at the beginning of verse 19 is designed to express the fact that no one can effectively provide an answer to the question.
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However, given the cynical and depressing view that he is setting forth, it seems evident that Qoheleth is implying a very real possibility that the heir will be a fool.
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Even if the heir turns out to be a wise man and effectively administers what is left to him, it provides no satisfaction for Qoheleth, just as it will provide none for any of us.
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The complaint is that his projects will be given to someone, who might have no interest or inclination to look after them; further, his hard-earned money and fame will be inherited by someone whose character is unknown or suspect.
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Even if the successor turns out to be wise, it does not change the fact that Qoheleth was the one whom made all the investments of time, energy, and hard work.
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His wise administration of the various building projects, and his accumulation of wealth and the details of life will simply be handed over to some unknown quantity.
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As with almost everything he has considered to this point, this is merely another area of frustration, meaninglessness, and despair for Qoheleth.
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